4 ways we can use edtech for engaging, high-quality learning experiences

Hate it or love – technology in education is here to stay. Parents can feel it, and the numbers back them up. Edtech is booming, with 40 times more venture capital invested in the sector in 2021 than in 2010.

There is no question that edtech has brought new ways to support the learning process and was used extensively by schools to connect remotely to students who could not attend classes in-person during the worst parts of the pandemic. At the same it can also serve as a huge distraction and sometimes to the detriment of student’s growth and development. The data on this is clear. Remote learning during the pandemic led to significant learning loss among students and was a primary driver of the U.S.’ growing achievement gap – meaning that economically disadvantaged students and students of color were hit the hardest.

The conversation has quickly shifted from whether technology should be used in learning to how we can use it to improve learning and ensure that all students have access to high-quality educational experiences. Here are four areas we can start:…Read More

PowerSchool Launches New Tools and Resources to Help Educators Personalize Learning, Support Student Needs, and Increase Operational Excellence

FOLSOM, Calif. — PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, today announced updates to its  PowerSchool Unified Classroom® and  PowerSchool Unified Insights™ solutions. These updates include new data-driven personalized learning products, LearningNav and ContentNav, and a new resource library within  Unified Insights MTSS, which will provide educators with vetted, research-backed strategies and tools. PowerSchool also announced time-saving software Clouds built to provide educators with a more connected approach to planning, engaging, and monitoring students’ unique needs. 

As we emerge from the past two and half years, the impact of the dramatic learning disruptions experienced by students nationwide is evident. In fact, the results from the latest “National Report Card,” distributed by the  National Assessment of Educational Progress, shows declines in math and reading scores for the U.S.’ fourth and eighth graders with math scores having the largest declines since NAEP testing began in 1990. Each student is at a different place in their learning journey, making it clear that educators need tools and resources that will help personalize learning, address individual student needs, and streamline their operations. 

LearningNav: Building Personalized Pathways …Read More

Transeo Names EdTech Industry Leader Cecilia Retelle Zywicki as CEO

DENVER (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Transeo, the leading platform for connecting work-based learning opportunities to K-12 schools, named  Cecilia Retelle Zywicki as CEO. Zywicki was most recently COO of PresenceLearning and SRC, respectively. Prior to that, she co-founded and was the COO at Ranku. Both PresenceLearning and Ranku were acquired for undisclosed amounts. 

Zywicki has more than a decade of experience leading, scaling, and building education companies. As COO of PresenceLearning, she built a scaled organization that leveraged technology to deliver high-quality online therapy solutions for children with diverse needs. Before that, Zywicki co-founded the software company Ranku in 2013, which built two-sided marketplaces for state systems to increase student enrollment. It also included recruitment and predictive analytics software before being acquired by John Wiley & Sons in 2016.

Zywicki has spent her career focused on upskilling the workforce after starting at the Chamber of Commerce and receiving her Juris Doctor from the University of Denver and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education from the University of Minnesota – where she played ice hockey, twice appearing in the Frozen Four. …Read More

Savvas Learning Company Introduces the Newly Updated enVision Mathematics 2024

PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY — Savvas Learning Company, a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, introduced its newly updated enVision Mathematics series with many exciting enhancements inspired by feedback from math teachers, including brand-new family engagement resources to support student learning at home.

enVision © 2024, the newest edition of Savvas Learning Company’s highly-effective and best-selling math series for grades K-12, is now packed with even more student-centered activities that engage learners in real-world, meaningful math, along with a variety of new instructional support tools to save teachers time while offering them flexibility for lesson planning.

“Savvas has always been focused on providing educators the highest-quality math curriculum combined with the most flexible resources to make teaching easier, a commitment that has made enVision the nation’s most popular math program used in thousands of classrooms everywhere,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “With new features centered around students and more supportive resources for both home and classroom, enVision offers an innovative curriculum that helps educators teach with confidence and engages students with hands-on, problem-based learning.”…Read More

How learning science informs edtech product development

It’s no secret that the pandemic shift to remote learning resulted in boom times for edtech. Market intelligence firm HolonIQ expects global edtech spend to reach $300 billion in 2022 and up to $404 billion in 2025. The growth is fueling investment, too, as last year venture capital tripled over pre-pandemic levels.

But is all that money well spent on learning products with proven efficacy in the classroom, or are those billions going toward technology for technology’s sake?

With the boom in edtech and so many shiny, new product offerings on the market, it’s essential for educators to select tools they can trust will have a long-term impact on learning. More often than not, these are the tools that have prioritized learning science in their product design, to guide product vision and focus.…Read More

Utah STEM Action Center Adds IXL Math to K-12 Personalized Learning Grant List

SAN MATEO, Calif.  — IXL, the personalized learning platform used by more than 14 million students, announced that it has been added to Utah’s K-12 Math Personalized Learning Software Grant list by the state’s STEM Action Center. The approval signals to educators that IXL Math is backed by rigorous research to support its effectiveness in Utah and opens up grant funding for schools and districts to adopt the platform.

The Action Center promotes STEM education in Utah by identifying and providing funding for resources that are proven to help learners grow. Before adding IXL Math to the state’s grant list, the Action Center and Utah Education Policy Center (UEPC) rigorously evaluated the platform to determine its efficacy. 

The UEPC’s research, Associations Between IXL Personalized Learning Software Use and Student Mathematics Achievement in Utah: 2020-2021, found a statistically significant relationship between IXL usage and an improvement in math outcomes, writing: “…on average [Utah students that] use IXL for 20 minutes or more per week perform better on statewide math assessments than students who do not use IXL.” …Read More

95 Percent Group Unveils 95 Phonics Core Program for Grades 4 and 5

Lincolnshire, Ill. – 95 Percent Group LLC, the trusted source for comprehensive, proven literacy solutions, launched 95 Phonics Core Program® Word Study, Grades 4 and 5. The new program extends the evidence-based classroom success of 95 Percent Group’s K-3 program, a Tier 1 solution for whole class and small group instruction, supporting explicit, structured literacy instruction. It engages students with informational text and literary passages to help them develop fast and meaningful word recognition and build fluency, comprehension, and confidence. It also includes professional learning and ongoing coaching at the district and building level to support teachers in mastering phonics-based instruction.

Chief Academic Officer for 95 Percent Group Laura Stewart noted that 95 Phonics Core Program® Word Study, Grades 4 and 5 is a natural evolution for the company’s phonics ecosystem, a cohesive suite of products and professional learning services aligned with the Science of Reading.

“Expanding our phonics ecosystem to support fourth and fifth grade is the direct result of educators asking us for a solution to fill the continued, growing need for explicit Tier 1 phonics and word study skill development beyond the third grade,” said Stewart. “This is a unique offering for schools and it is exciting to be able to bring this resource to the classroom to help both struggling and on grade-level students improve their reading and spelling abilities.”…Read More

5 practical ways to support English learners in the classroom

For English learners, acquiring language proficiency opens the door to thrive across all subjects. However, learning a new language can be a long, difficult process that requires courage, resilience and trust from students who initially might feel vulnerable and out of place.

Schools are challenged by the growing number of English learners in their classrooms, with some districts having as many as 100 different native languages spoken by their students. While many regions of the country are equipped to integrate these students, there is still a struggle to find the best ways to support English learners and their caregivers. 

It’s crucial for teachers to create classrooms that are safe places for students to try, experiment and get meaningful feedback that allows them to make sense of what’s going on around them. The first step requires developing a more comprehensive linguistic profile of students.…Read More

Oregon Public School Breaks State Assessment Score Record with Carnegie Learning

Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Learning, a leader in artificial intelligence for K-12 education and formative assessment, announced today that students from the Howard Street Partnership School achieved record-breaking results on Oregon’s state assessment, SBAC, using Carnegie Learning’s core secondary math solution that comprises MATHbook, a consumable write-in text that fosters collaborative classroom learning, and MATHia, the one-on-one, adaptive math coaching software.

Howard Street Charter School in Salem, Oregon, is a project-based institution that pushes students to achieve excellence in all areas of study. Howard Street Charter School is no stranger to academic success and had already achieved  curricular excellence with passing rates above the state average. Carnegie Learning’s math solution helped them achieve even higher.

“Our highest passing rate ever in the history of the school was fifty-two percent before Covid. And now that’s the mid-range,” Principal Christina Tracy states. “Our SBAC data was the best we’ve had for math in 25 years! And we did not teach to the test. We just used Carnegie Learning Math.”…Read More

How robots and our school’s buddy program bring computer science to life

Coding and robots are both natural tools for encouraging collaboration in the classroom. At Sewickley Academy, we have taken that collaboration to the next level by having Grade 5 students step into mentoring roles for our kindergarteners who are just being introduced to computer science. Here’s how we did it.

From Reading to Robotics

Recently, our PreK through Grade 12 independent school has been working to include more computer science opportunities across all grade levels. These classes are a distinguishing factor of a Sewickley Academy education.…Read More

Clark County School District Gives Educators in 241 Elementary Schools Access to Lexia’s LETRS Professional Learning

BOSTON – Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada, has made Lexia LETRS ® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) professional learning programs available to most elementary schools in the district with a plan to continue expanding the program to additional elementary and early childhood teachers and administrators. Offered by Lexia, a Cambium Learning Group company, LETRS professional learning programs provide educators with the deep knowledge required to be literacy and language experts in the science of reading.

Developed by Dr. Louisa Moats and leaders in the field of literacy, the LETRS suite provides practical support with tools that are available 24/7—online and in print. It also offers professional learning sessions led by national LETRS experts. These sessions provide classroom application examples of the learnings and refine and extend participants’ understanding of the content. The LETRS suite consists of three professional learning programs:

· Lexia LETRS for Elementary Educators…Read More